Increasing Joint Attention | MyAutismTeam

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Increasing Joint Attention
A MyAutismTeam Member asked a question 💭

Our 2.7 year old son has a difficult time with joint interaction/attention. He pays attention for 5-10 seconds at a time sparingly throughout the day. Yes, he's in ABA 21 hrs/wk and we've seen some increases in this, but not at the rate we would like to see it. It's hard to keep him engaged in activities and feel like we've tried/are trying everything. Just reaching out to see if others have experienced similar with their little ones and what's worked for you to increase joint attention… read more

posted January 11, 2019
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A MyAutismTeam Member

I have the same issue with my son. Yours is very young & with Autism progress takes a lot more time than what we are comfortable with. My son struggles with joint attention & his ability to focus is about 30 seconds to 1 minute. The most important thing I’ve learned in the past 4 years has been that whatever you try to engage your child with, it has to be something he loves & you have to make it fun. I have to be loud & silly to engage my son. I don’t know if your child is sound sensitive, so your volume depends on him. Light up toys & musical toys are what my son seeks out. Once you discover what he loves, it should get easier in time to engage him. Try not to focus on time, he will progress in his own time, this is key to keeping yourself from constant anxiety. Autism is a developmental delay & there is no timetable in our kids minds. Try everything, balloons, bubbles, Mickey Mouse, whatever makes him smile or laugh. It’s trial & error, every child is different, but progress varies greatly timewise. I love Pinterest for ideas on working on fine motor play.
You likely already have, but ask your OT for advice on what she finds him to like when he is in therapy with her. Two of my son’s favorite websites for educational watching & musical fun is Littlebabybum & BigBlock singsong. Check them out, your son might love them too.

posted January 11, 2019
A MyAutismTeam Member

Have you looked into floortime? There are some YouTube videos of dr. Greenspan that will give you an idea of how to do it. I did the course myself online and found it helpful to use on my child for joint attention. Unlike ABA, floortime can be easily learnt and implemented at home by caregiver. Once we started ABA I stopped floortime cause of time constraints and also we saw progress with ABA as well.

posted January 11, 2019
A MyAutismTeam Member

I find it much easier to get involved with whatever they are doing...on their level..at their comfort level. If he's stimming in the corner, go over and stim with him. If he's spinning wheels, spin wheels. If he's looking at a book, look with him. Get on his level and carefully expand the activity. Add in words and new actions carefully. Having him just sit and do something you want him to can be very frustrating...I get that. I truly find starting on their turf allows you to draw them onto your turf a bit more effectively.... But yes, it all takes time...as you know all too well.

posted January 11, 2019
A MyAutismTeam Member

Look into an OT that implements floortime! Ours does it and she is amazing, my son has a lot of fun with her too =)

posted January 11, 2019
A MyAutismTeam Member

Hey!! I found that timers helped me with my son. For example, my son is older so he can do 15 min at a time but for your son you can do 5-8 min? Ok so he starts colouring timers is on, 15 min timer goes off it’s ipad time, then 15 min timer goes off it’s play do time, then 15 min timer goes off it’s time to go for a walk 15 min ect.....it’s been working wonders for us here and it helps with him to focus on one thing than before he has behaviours or is bored we switch activities. Hope it helps xoxoxoxo best of luck

posted January 19, 2019

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